Through the portal, members can inform the Hire Association about fraudulent hires, thefts, and attempted thefts helping to alert other members about any activity in their area and the safeguard themselves against trends or tactics that may be apparent. The portal will be moderated by the HAE EHA team and reports shared with key partners, including the police. Crimes should still be reported to police in the usual way, with fraud additionally reported to Action Fraud and insurers notified for all losses.

Construction and agricultural machinery theft has increased by 200 per cent since 1st February 2022, with global events, like the war in Ukraine, driving up demand for stolen goods of this type. Darker conditions because of the clocks going back typically attract crimes of this sort, as visibility is significantly impacted, making the sector prime targets for criminals. At the same time, the equipment hire sector is experiencing a huge spike in fraudulent hires. We are working with partners to update guidance on how to reduce the risk of being a fraud victim.

A report, published by NCATT and CESAR, revealed that the total value of tools and equipment recovered from the sector in just the first quarter of this year was almost £700k*.

The report also shared that 32 arrests had been made and 127 items recovered in Q1 2024, with some as far afield as Romania and Italy.

Mark Bradshaw, public affairs manager at HAE EHA, said: “I am delighted that we can launch this portal to better equip our members to tackle the spread of criminal activity and to share information about prolific offenders.

“At HAE EHA, we want to ensure that our members feel empowered to tell us about the criminal activity they have experienced. Companies should still report crimes to their local police and, additionally, fraud to Action Fraud.”

Superintendent Andy Huddleston, head of NCATT and of the National Rural Crime Unit, said: “The National Construction & Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT) finished its first year of operation with £6.2M in seizures of stolen machinery from criminals. For the first half of this year the team are matching this with over £3M in recoveries but crucially we are seeing more arrests and, with the support of the CESAR donor board including HAE funding support, the team now have a financial investigation capability.

“Within four weeks of the funding being approved the first financial operation resulted in the freezing of £3.2M in criminal assets following an investigation into the theft of 53 machines.

“The Hire Association’s three-year commitment to help fight plant equipment theft and fraud is absolutely crucial to us continuing this work and targeting construction machinery thieves.”

Association members can access the HAE EHA Crime portal via the website.

_{* CESAR NCATT report, figures are calculated from all construction recoveries in Q1, extrapolated to create an annual estimate}